Global rice prices, now at their highest in 11 years, are set to rally further after India moved to boost payments to farmers, just as El Nino threatens yields in key producers and alternative staples get costlier for poor Asians and Africans.
India accounts for more than 40% of world rice exports, which were 56 million metric tons in 2022, but low inventories mean any cut in shipments will fuel food prices driven up by Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year and erratic weather.
"India was the cheapest supplier of rice," said B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association. "As Indian prices moved up because of the new minimum support price, other suppliers also started raising prices."